Maternal antidepressants are implicated in ADHD, but so is maternal depression

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The safety of antidepressants in pregnancy is controversial, partly because of profound methodological difficulties in separating the fetal effects of antidepressants from those related to maternal depression (confounding by indication). One central concern is the potential impact of these drugs on fetal brain development. Such effects may be subtle and possibly only detectable years after exposure, such as an increased susceptibility to (multifactorial) neurodevelopmental conditions.

Using the electronic medical records of 305 339 adults aged between 21 and 90 years, researchers at Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine examined the association between IDA and sensorineural hearing loss (when there is damage to the cochlea or to the nerve pathways from the inner ear to the brain) and conductive hearing loss (hearing loss because of problems with the bones of the middle ear). IDA was determined by low haemoglobin and ferritin levels for age and sex.

Solanezumab’s failure is a wake-up call to look elsewhere for an answer to dementia

Is the amyloid cascade hypothesis of Alzheimer’s disease too big to fail? It proposes that brain deposition of β amyloid protein is the critical early event in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease and has been the centrepiece of dementia research for decades. The hypothesis suggests that removing β amyloid will reverse or prevent the clinical expression of dementia. However, in all phase III clinical trials to date, treatments targeting β amyloid have failed to improve cognitive outcomes despite reducing brain β amyloid.

Swimming, racquet sports, and aerobics seem to be the best forms of exercise for reducing the risk of death from heart disease and stroke, research published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine has found.

The researchers said that the small number of events impaired the statistical power in some analyses. There were relatively few deaths from all causes among runners and football players, which may explain the wide confidence intervals. However, they concluded, “These findings demonstrate that participation in specific sports may have significant benefits for public health.”

The fall in breast cancer mortality seen after widespread mammography screening was introduced in the US was mainly due to improved systemic therapy and not earlier detection of tumours, a comparison of national cancer data before and after the introduction of screening programmes has shown.

A significant rise in the risk of speech and language disorders was found among children born to mothers prescribed selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) during pregnancy, a study published in JAMA Psychiatry has found.

With increasing use of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) and other electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) globally, the debate surrounding the potential harms or benefits may shift to ensuring that the devices are manufactured, marketed, and sold according to standards that reduce harm and promote health. Burns from overheating or explosions of ENDS are an emerging and under-researched concern. In light of the recent ruling that grants the US Food and Drug Administration authority to regulate ENDS1 and as their use becomes widespread worldwide, a clinical, public health, and regulatory framework to reduce ENDS related burns is needed.

Introducing eggs or peanuts early into infants’ diet is associated with a lower risk of developing egg or peanut allergy, says a systematic review of the evidence published in JAMA.

The review found “moderate certainty” evidence that introducing eggs to the infant diet at 4 to 6 months was associated with reduced egg allergy and that introducing peanuts at 4 to 11 months was associated with reduced peanut allergy when compared with later introduction of these foods.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality in the United Kingdom has decreased significantly over the past 30 years, but its prevalence has shown little change, and major differences exist in the burden of CVD among the four constituent countries and between men and women, a review has found.

Women taking combined hormone replacement therapy (HRT) are 2.7 times more likely to develop breast cancer than non-users, and the risk may increase with longer use, a study published in the British Journal of Cancer has found.

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The researchers, from the Institute of Cancer Research in London, said that previous studies may have substantially underestimated the risk of breast cancer from combined HRT, as they did not update information about a woman’s HRT use or analyse accurately to allow for her age at menopause.

The new research was part of the Breast Cancer Now Generations Study, which is following more than 100 000 women for 40 years to investigate the causes of breast cancer.

Using paracetamol to treat fever or pain is no more likely than ibuprofen to exacerbate asthma in children with mild persistent asthma, a randomised trial has shown (in the New England Journal of Medicine).

Observational data have previously linked paracetamol and asthma symptoms to decreased lung function, so some doctors have recommended avoiding the drug in children with asthma. But data from randomised trials have been limited.

Need to understand health research better? Not sure how to assess the quality of the research you have found? This new tool found on the Understanding Health Research website may help you.

It has been created, by Glasgow University’s social and public health sciences unit (and other collaborators) help people understand published health research and distinguish between “good” and “bad” studies.

The aims of the tool are to allow lay and professional audiences to understand how to assess the quality of research evidence, raise awareness of what evidence is and how it is generated, teach or reaffirm critical health literacy skills